Children get involved at the Sharjah International Book Fair. Duncan Chard for The National
Children get involved at the Sharjah International Book Fair. Duncan Chard for The National
Children get involved at the Sharjah International Book Fair. Duncan Chard for The National
Children get involved at the Sharjah International Book Fair. Duncan Chard for The National

Books

Sharjah International Book Fair: Creative fun for kids

There's plenty activities to keep the kids occupied and develop their interest in reading.

Malavika Vettath

November 02, 2014

  • English
  • Arabic

Comic-art workshops, storytelling sessions, puppet shows, plays and even learning how to make ice cream – the Sharjah International Book Fair has more that 200 activities for children.

Here are five of the fun sessions not to be missed.

The Amazing Comics Art Workshop – Enter the amazing world of caricatures with the artist Shamsuddin K P, one of the fastest cartoonists in the Middle East. Every day during the fair, 10.30am to 11.30am and 5pm to 6pm.

There are two plays the kids will love. Jad in Four Seasons is a stage show filled with scientific experiments and beautiful dances that you can catch from Thursday, November 6 to Saturday, November 8 at 7.30pm each night. It is set in the Land of Magic, which is inhabited by fairies, the magical tailor for the four seasons and a lazy magician. Kharboush Gang is inspired by the Charles Dickens' masterpiece Oliver Twist but the story is placed in a new and exciting context. You can see it from Thursday, November 13 to Saturday, November 15 at 7.30pm each night.

My Mobile Theater is a funny way of attracting children to books. It involves role-playing, allowing kids to choose roles and take part in shared reading activities. The workshop, which enhances their critical thinking, runs from November 5 to 10 at 10am each day.

Puppet Theater – What better way to see stories told than through a puppet show? See colourful, animated dolls act out thrilling tales with interactive audio and music on November 7 and November 14 at 7.45pm.

It’s never to early to learn how to cook and youngsters can learn how to make authentic Italian gelato without any artificial flavouring or colouring agents. The workshops – on Thursday, November 6 at noon and Saturday, November 8 at 5.30pm – will guide kids in tasting fruit, sugar and flour to understand their effect on the finished product. Another cookery session – I Prepare Healthy Food on Saturday, November 8 at 11am – teaches kids how to whip up light, healthy dishes in easy ways.

Other sessions worth a look include one exploring why it is important for parents to read to their children and when to start doing it.

There is also a sand-painting workshop for children with special needs, and several creative-writing workshops, plus yoga and meditation sessions. And don’t miss the Children’s Library, at which a librarian will use dolls and other fun props to make reading a fun experience for ­children, who can also talk about their favourite characters.

• The Sharjah International Book Fair runs Wednesday, November 5 to Saturday, November 15 at the Sharjah Expo Centre. For detailed listings visit www.sharjahbookfair.com

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Essentials

The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.

Opening weekend Premier League fixtures

Weekend of August 10-13

Arsenal v Manchester City

Bournemouth v Cardiff City

Fulham v Crystal Palace

Huddersfield Town v Chelsea

Liverpool v West Ham United

Manchester United v Leicester City

Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur

Southampton v Burnley

Watford v Brighton & Hove Albion

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Everton

The biog

Name: Shamsa Hassan Safar

Nationality: Emirati

Education: Degree in emergency medical services at Higher Colleges of Technology

Favourite book: Between two hearts- Arabic novels

Favourite music: Mohammed Abdu and modern Arabic songs

Favourite way to spend time off: Family visits and spending time with friends

Zombieland: Double Tap

Director: Ruben Fleischer

Stars: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone

Four out of five stars 

A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE

Looking for a new family pet? Here are the links to visit when it comes to adopting... 

Animal Welfare Abu Dhabi

Rescue of Abu Dhabi

Feline Friends Abu Dhabi

Adopt-a-Cat UAE

Naema's Kittys 

Jackie's Cats UAE

Animal Action UAE

Animal Welfare Al Ain

Yanni Animal Welfare

Animals and Us Fujairah

Arabian Saluki Center of Dubai (Ascod)

38 Smiles

Emirates Animal Welfare Society

Red Paw Foundation 

KittySnip

Saluki International Rescue

K9 Friends Dubai 

Amanda's Animal Rescue UAE

Ahmed's Animal Rescue

Al Mayya K9 Adoptions 

New Life Rescue

Rescue Animals in Need United Arab Emirates

Stray Dogs Center UAQ

Sniff - Strays Needing Interim of Furever Friends

PARA UAE - Protection of Animal Rights Association

Ras Al Khaimah Animal Welfare Centre

Shepherd Rescue Arabia

Friends of Rakawc 

UAQAC Umm Al Quwain Animal Care

Chef Nobu's advice for eating sushi

“One mistake people always make is adding extra wasabi. There is no need for this, because it should already be there between the rice and the fish.
“When eating nigiri, you must dip the fish – not the rice – in soy sauce, otherwise the rice will collapse. Also, don’t use too much soy sauce or it will make you thirsty. For sushi rolls, dip a little of the rice-covered roll lightly in soy sauce and eat in one bite.
“Chopsticks are acceptable, but really, I recommend using your fingers for sushi. Do use chopsticks for sashimi, though.
“The ginger should be eaten separately as a palette cleanser and used to clear the mouth when switching between different pieces of fish.”

MWTC info

Tickets to the MWTC range from Dh100 and can be purchased from www.ticketmaster.ae or by calling 800 86 823 from within the UAE or 971 4 366 2289 from outside the country and all Virgin Megastores. Fans looking to attend all three days of the MWTC can avail of a special 20 percent discount on ticket prices.

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Five personal finance podcasts from The National

 

To help you get started, tune into these Pocketful of Dirham episodes 

·

Balance is essential to happiness, health and wealth 

·

What is a portfolio stress test? 

·

What are NFTs and why are auction houses interested? 

·

How gamers are getting rich by earning cryptocurrencies 

·

Should you buy or rent a home in the UAE?  

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  • Washington issued formal waivers to eight buyers of Iranian oil, allowing them to continue limited imports. Iraq did not receive a waiver.
  • Iraq’s government is cooperating with the US to contain Iranian influence in the country, and increased Iraqi oil production is helping to make up for Iranian crude that sanctions are blocking from markets, US officials say.
  • Iraq, the second-biggest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, pumped last month at a record 4.78 million barrels a day, former Oil Minister Jabbar Al-Luaibi said on Oct. 20. Iraq exported 3.83 million barrels a day last month, according to tanker tracking and data from port agents.
  • Iraq has been working to restore production at its northern Kirkuk oil field. Kirkuk could add 200,000 barrels a day of oil to Iraq’s total output, Hook said.
  • The country stopped trucking Kirkuk oil to Iran about three weeks ago, in line with U.S. sanctions, according to four people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because they aren’t allowed to speak to media.
  • Oil exports from Iran, OPEC’s third-largest supplier, have slumped since President Donald Trump announced in May that he’d reimpose sanctions. Iran shipped about 1.76 million barrels a day in October out of 3.42 million in total production, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
  • Benchmark Brent crude fell 47 cents to $72.70 a barrel in London trading at 7:26 a.m. local time. U.S. West Texas Intermediate was 25 cents lower at $62.85 a barrel in New York. WTI held near the lowest level in seven months as concerns of a tightening market eased after the U.S. granted its waivers to buyers of Iranian crude.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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